


Magnets and Magnetization

by fairytalehearts



Category: Fringe
Genre: F/M, Future Fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-11
Updated: 2014-08-11
Packaged: 2018-02-12 16:59:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2117757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fairytalehearts/pseuds/fairytalehearts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The year is 2022 and Fringe Division is actually a Division. Senior Agents are on scene. In both universes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue | Peter

It’s 3AM.

He knows this for a fact because they just got back from Phoenix at 2, he had yet to talk to his daughter and his wife was curled up against him already asleep. His arm had just been wrapped around her, the phones and lights off-

Unfortunately for him, Astrid was just leaving and decided to wake him up.

“We’ve been gone for three weeks, Astrid.” Peter grumbled groping around blindly for his glasses. His cranky mood getting the best of him, he mumbled a quick apology before taking the phone. The only thing he hears dispatch say is ‘Aquarium. Urgent’. He’s too tired to process the rest.

 “The FBI never sleeps.” Astrid reminded him before heading back towards the guest room.

The two of them were beyond exhausted, but he somehow gets his wife up and dressed. Long gone were the all-nighters, chasing leads. Now he was in charge of 45 of the most neurotic, egotistical, scientific minds in the country and they all liked being Daddy’s favorite. Unfortunately, he liked being Olivia’s favorite and the two weren’t mutually beneficial.

 He didn’t want to say this was beneath them, but in a lot of ways it was. Their last case was years ago when Fringe Division went legit, Olivia having been promoted long  before that.  She dials the familiar number for his assistant and puts her on speaker phone while he drives them to the Boston Aquarium.

Ramona fills them in, his assistant also half-asleep. There was a suspicious break in at the Aquarium, and unfortunately they were the closest senior agents. The Boston Aquarium was undergoing renovations and had temporarily moved all of their fish offsite. Apparently someone broke in and left something in one of the tanks.

Cases like this hardly got any Fringe attention anymore, but something had raised a red flag by the unis on scene.  There were at least eight cop cars and the last time they’d had this many civilians nearby the universe was cracking.

 “You’ll need to leave any electronics in the car. Everything within a twenty foot radius dies. Security Cameras, Phones, it’s like there’s a giant magnet or something in there.”

The junior agent does a double-take upon seeing them. The last time the two of them worked a case together was at least five years ago, he doubted their names were even listed as senior agents in the agent logs. Peter pulls his old gear out of the trunk and dutifully leaves his cellphone on top of the car.

“That phone rings, and I want you to come get me. Are we clear, agent?” He flashes his badge at the poor kid and doesn’t wait for a response. Sometimes a little authority came in handy. He could have someone else sit near the phone incase his niece had an emergency while watching Etta.

“Yes, Director Bishop.”

Something told Peter that this case would be one for the history books.


	2. Peter

Whatever was going on probably didn’t require the both of them, but the Aquarium was ten minutes from their house.  The familiar lights, sounds were a welcome sight their little sabbatical to the other universe was a little too in depth for his liking. This, this was home.

People gave them a wide berth; the ones that were smart enough to recognize them anyway. Two newer agents were in front of a tank, perplexed.

“Watson, I’m not sure this is even in our league.”

They didn’t even notice their presence. Rookies. “We haven’t been formally introduced, My name is Olivia Bishop. My partner and I will be handling the investigation from here.”

She flashes the badge and Watson chokes. Literally chokes.

“Olivia Dunham, ma’am, it’s an honor. Hadley and I read you and Dr. Bishop’s case files at Quantico. Most of it was redacted and gibberish but- it’s what made me join Fringe.”

Hadley smacks him in the arm after noticing his once-over of Olivia, “They started Fringe Division. Of course they’re your inspiration. Hadley Van Cross. This is Wendell Langerfield. Of the Pennsylvania Langerfields.”

Peter feels the headache forming already. He’d heard about this one. Senator’s Son, very public scandal, Senator Langerfield didn’t exactly approve of Fringe Division and to have his youngest son enlist right out of college was not making him a popular man.

Falling into familiar habits, he would investigate the tank and Olivia would look for clues. He gets his bag and kisses his wife’s cheek before trotting over to the crime scene. Hadley falls in line behind him and he hopes the kid doesn’t ruin his already shitty day.

The scene in front of them was pretty normal. Empty tank on the left, empty tank on the right, dead center was a tank full of dirty red water, all sorts of bacteria and scum growing on the edges. It would take months of growth to get sea water like that, in a certain environment, with the proper lighting- and the aquarium had been closed for two days, tops.

If there was anything in there it would be impossible to see it.

“We need to start pumping the water out and get it back to the lab. There’s gotta be an EMP or something in there.” Hadley’s brave, he’ll give her that but that is exactly what they _don’t_ want to do.

Peter scoffs at that and gets his glasses out, “One, I think that water is too acidic to pump or dispose of conventionally. Two, there is a shipping sticker floating and Three, something is swimming in there.”

Peter points at the faded sticker floating in the red water and smirks. The sticker seemed to hit an invisible wall in the tank and the water seemed to ripple just so-

 “I think it’s looking at us.” Hadley commented, furiously scribbling down her observations.

He flicks the glass with his pen and a pair of eyes blinks at him in surprise. The rest of the creature appears in the red water, a long snake-like body, gills near its face. It’s the goddamn Loch Ness monster- Walter was going to have a field day with this one. The mouth opens, and he can’t hear the noise being emitted but he can feel it to the bottom of his feet.

 “Dr. Bishop! It’s Director Bishop!”

Olivia falls to the floor and Peter feels the oxygen leave his body. Skidding across the wet floor, he helps her stand up and she gets a good look at the creature, “She can’t breathe in there, Peter. We need to get her out.”

He needs to take the lead with this; people were looking at him for direction. This was not the time or place for him to look weak- even if his wife was propped up against him and looked too pale-

“You heard the lady. MOVE.”

The gawkers scatter, Wendell being the only one who moves towards him.

“Sir, we have transport but where are we going to take it?”

Olivia still looks weak but she manages to stand on her own. “Harvard. We need to make a stop at home first.”

**

Etta clipped on her Visitor Pass and waited patiently while Olivia filled out the appropriate paperwork. She was probably the only seven year old consultant they’d ever had but she had a much easier time using her abilities than Olivia and this case needed them both in the field.

Peter ran his thumb over her tiny hand and hoped that he wasn’t going to hell for having his daughter work for the FBI. Ella gave him a mock salute before heading for Walter’s office.  She was asleep when they left the house but his niece ‘just happened’ to be showing up during cases a lot more often. Technically, they couldn’t kick her out of Walter’s lab- it wasn’t Fringe Division property anymore. Which she was well aware of. One day she would be a great Fringe Division Agent if her mother ever let her enlist.

“I’ll be okay, Daddy.” Etta assured him.

“It’s our first day back. And you have school tomorrow.” Peter reminded her.  Not that she cared for school; she had her mother’s work ethic and his lack of appreciation for authority. She would much rather sneak out of school during recess to play with Walter in his lab. _‘Daddy they never said where I could play- they just said "go outside".’_

“They won’t be doing anything important. Ms. Shannon has mono so all they’re doing is watching a video about paper being made.” Etta picked her words wisely, using ‘they’ instead of ‘we’. They probably  had some record for pulling their kid out of school- he made a mental note to donate money to the school for her continued enrollment.

They had spent the past few weeks in the other universe, helping ‘Independent Nevada’ with their oxygen issues. The closest Fringe Division outpost was in Arizona and crossing over on a daily basis was too much for Olivia, so they ended up staying much longer than he would have liked. Three months with barely any contact with their universe or without coffee- not his idea of a vacation.

The Viceroy of Independent Nevada had given them more than luxurious accommodations. Apparently after raiding what was left of Las Vegas they were able to buy their freedom from the president (and conveniently one Dr. Walter Bishop) and had the means to contact them without their Fringe Division being involved.

It was all very odd. But it allowed them to test their own preventative measures in an oxygen-pocketed environment. And the Viceroy was smart enough to ask for Peter and Olivia Bishop. They were the best. Apparently that sentiment was now going to be passed on to their daughter.

“Okay she’s all signed in.” Olivia whispered, crouching down to Etta’s eye level, “Now, sweetie it’s just like we’ve been practicing. You’re going to feel for the creature and push calm thoughts for Mommy. We need to run tests so we can help-”

They had been doing mediation techniques for weeks. Focusing exercises. Cortexiphan was much more accessible as a child and Olivia was determined to keep Etta from lighting anyone on fire. Their abilities seemed to differ and his preliminary results as to ‘why’ were so far inconclusive.

The things his girls could do were amazing. Where Olivia seemed to be able to effect things around her- pyrokinesis, telekinesis- Etta could levitate, read thoughts, push thoughts, all on the internal. They both could read his mind somehow but Peter thought there might be a proximity issue. Etta simply walks into the room with the creature and puts her hand to the glass. It stops moving instantly. It looks at his daughter calmly and the techs are able to take blood samples.

“She’s hungry. She likes crab and fish and fish eggs. Can I go play with Walter’s Crayons now?”

Permission granted, she skips and twirls over to Walter’s office and plops down in the chair Walter had put in there for her. He cut the legs off one of the lab tables and had a giant bucket of crayons left over from the daycare.  And a few pieces of old lab equipment Walter insisted she play with.

Olivia was still harboring a migraine, but slowly the electronics in the lab turn on and the biometric sensor Walter was working on started giving readings of the creature in the tank. Ella pops her head out of the office and gives a thumbs up.

“If I start without Walter, he’ll never forgive me.” Peter informed his wife, his fingers just itching to look at the blood sample. The look in her eyes was amused, but impatient. He loved when she thought she was the one in charge.

She blushes, easily reading his more private thoughts, “I put a call into the Marine Biology Team. They’re bringing some food for- Nessie.” Olivia obviously didn’t like the nickname but Peter figured it was suitable.

The lab doors kick open, and Peter didn’t think he’d ever seen his father run that fast ever, “Really! Really is it true?!”

“Really. Really.” Peter mocked, his joke going unacknowledged.

His father doesn’t even acknowledge Olivia, Ella or Etta until three hours later. The First Agents on Scene had decided to stick around and Hadley was obediently following him around the lab taking notes.

“Boss this is bad. He didn’t even touch the red vines.” Ramona commented, handing him his coffee. The three of them rarely used the Harvard Lab anymore except for the sensory deprivation tank. Having 15 agents milling around was a little- odd to say the least. He had a 3 million dollar lab at Fringe Division HQ, and several high profile projects he should be working on-

But this was their home. Even if it took three times as long to run tests. Walter was on a pee break and apparently had gotten distracted by his granddaughter’s coloring.

“I think we need to have another talk with Rachel.” Peter commented quietly, watching his niece talk with some of the newer agents. She certainly had a head for leadership. But she wouldn’t join Fringe without her mother’s blessing. Even if that particular argument involved Ella moving across country to get away from her mother-

“She’s been here a year, Peter. Rachel won’t budge. She is a Dunham, you know.”

“So? You’re stubborn but I have ways of convincing you.” Placing his right hand towards her face she leaned into his touch and nodded. He didn’t need to read minds to tell that she was exhausted. All of the signs were there and she was definitely more affectionate when tired.

Before raising an eyebrow, she hastily added, “But you’re my husband and doing those things with my sister would be a little strange even for us.”

“She’s graduating soon. Her aptitude tests already put her on the Fringe Division fast track.” Peter sighed, “If Rachel won’t let her enlist now she’ll be getting a letter from Broyles next month. She’ll need to report to Quantico next spring. Government Order.”

“I really hope it won’t come to that.” Olivia hated seeing them fight. Ella had barely even talked to Eddie since she moved in and Rachel was taking it out on her own sister. Olivia didn’t want this for Ella, but she wasn’t going to turn away her only niece when she showed up with bags.

The doors whipped open and an all-too-familiar voice in interrupted his thoughts.

“Uncle Link!” Ella squeaked in surprise, almost dropping Etta in the process.

Lincoln rushed in, obviously surprised to see all of their lab equipment turned on. He must have crossed over in the dusty old lab.“We had a creature on our side. We found it in the Boston Aquarium, this gross thick, yellow water in the tank, we brought samples. It disappeared with Olivia. I ran here from the Zeppelin.”

He was obviously out of breath and carrying a pair of boots that he assumed must be other Olivia’s.

“Where _is_ Olivia?”

He didn’t even need to look around the lab; his daughter’s screams told him all he needed to know


	3. Lincoln

Ten minutes and they would have been on vacation.

Ten minutes.

They had turned in all of their casefiles, their guns, their everything. Convincing Olivia to cash in her vacation time was hard enough but with his promotion to Director of Ops he was long overdue. Six years together and even though honeymoons were a thing of the past over here- they were going.  Even pulled Charlie out of school and left the dog with “Adult” Charlie for the week.

 But of course fate needed to intervene and the two of them were sent to Boston to investigate the newest Fringe Anomaly.  Upon arriving to the scene, an old abandoned aquarium, all of their gear, including the car, died.

They had been there for hours waiting on backup. Whatever was emitting the pulse was spreading.  Soon all the tech on this side of town would be dead if they didn’t do anything. Nothing like a new Fringe event to get the wife excited about work. Not that she needed a reason.

Giving up on his earphone, Lincoln glanced over towards Olivia where she was staring into the thick yellow water. He had been put in charge of watching her boots, her bare feet were pressed against the cool glass. Nothing had moved or exploded but she was convinced that something was in there. They couldn’t do DNA analysis or any other test until they got the Secretary’s old equipment from the Smithsonian.  Which meant red tape, more red tape and a call from interim Director Francis which lead to a million more questions about why they were on vacation. Which meant he had to deal with his frustrated workaholic wife.

“We could just call Peter and Olivia-” The aforementioned couple had been in their universe for weeks and they might still be around – their lowtech gear would be a welcome if it meant his vacation would come any sooner.  It had apparently been a huge secret but if the Viceroy of Independent Nevada  really thought they weren’t tracking interdimensional rifts still-

“This _our_ case. Who knows what’s in there. Or if they could help.” She was being a brat and she knew it. Getting back to New York was going to be next to impossible. They need to find some gasoline and then an old taxi that wasn’t electric, let finding the damn typewriter.

Slumping onto the nearby bench he wishes he had some coffee tablets and knew how to fix this mess. It couldn’t have been timed better-something thumps against the glass and one of the technicians screams. Olivia blinks at the creature and it blinks back.

Then the creature and Olivia disappear.

Lincoln’s not sure what happens next, but he’s on his feet and if he has to run to the nearest Zeppelin Port he will. There’s only one person he knew that could travel between universes to get his wife back.

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Fringe and I make no profit from this work of fiction


End file.
